This Week with the Mayor, March 12 - 17

This proved to be an interesting week, and while there was no Council meeting, I spent much of the week in Washington D.C. at the annual National League of Cities Congressional Conference. I was joined by a fellow councilmember, and we had several meetings including one with the Sunnyvale Council at NASA where we continued to press the issue of restoring Hanger 1, and more specifically, encouraging NASA HQ to seriously examine the proposal submitted by the Google Founders. 

We also had the opportunity to meet with the President's Director of Intergovernmental Relations at the West Wing to discuss the same issue as well as preserving the airfield for exclusive federal use.  This has been a longstanding policy in Mountain View, one that has been supported by three advisory ballot measures which have clearly demonstrated the communities preference for no commercial or general aviation uses and no package delivery service operations.

Also while in the Nations Capital, I had the opportunity to meet with Senator Dianne Feinstein and several House leaders to impress upon them the importance of several programs which are vital to cities across California and the Nation.

After returning home, Councilmember Siegel and I had the opportunity to meet with officials of the SkyTran PRT system.  I also attended the Bay Area Water Supply & Conservation Agency (BAWSCA) board meeting. BAWSCA is tasked by State Law with overseeing the San Francisco PUC's seismic retrofit of the Hetch Hetchy Water System. The program is well underway.

The week drew to a close with an Innovative Transportation Workshop hosted by the City which drew together numerous experts to examine new opportunities for dealing with traffic, parking and mobility issues in the North Bayshore and Mountain View. The hightlighted technologies were PRT including UltraPRT and SkyTrans. This was an informational workshop, but some of the ideas may be discussed further.

Following the workshop I held another Mocha with the Mayor which was well attended. I hold these meetings on the 1st and 15th of each month at 10:30 a.m. at coffee shops around the City. Be sure to visit my Facebook page for updates on time and place. 

During the course of the week I spoke with many people about last week's episode of House Hunters which airs on HGTV.  A young couple was looking for a house in Mountain View, but it was clear that their budget wouldn't find them much.  There were some great shots of some of our restaurants. The couple ended up buying in Sunnyvale, though it was not their first choice. What was interesting was that this couple wanted a more urban feel, and a home with no lawn or yard that required any maintainance. Throughout the show, they referred to Mountain View as if we were Beverley Hills or some other high rolling City. Our "brand" is definitely on the rise!

And finally, this Tuesday's Council Meeting will deal with a proposed increase in the City's Neighborhood Grants Program, a workplan for rules on Mobile Food Venders and a Resolution relating to a Constitutional Amendment overturning the Citizens United Supreme Court case that allowed SuperPacs.